The Universe We Missed
by Tisara
Summary: AU-Starts pre-games then continues/Twin Shep. story with an alternate backstory for Jane Garrus wasn't really the best Turian, he was never going to dispute that. Jane wasn't looking for friendship, much less romance, but that all came crashing down once a certain Turian officer arrests her one night. They both had pretenses to keep up, but matters of the heart rarely ever listen.
1. Sorry Officer (Chapter 1)

**Author's Note:****Ok so I posted this story once before with an OC and it wasn't super popular (actually it was pretty hated lol but that's ok it doesn't bother me, in the end the story I had initially wrote felt...not as good as it could have been) and as I continued to edit, shape the story, write, and continue it on my own, I realized an OC was pointless here, and this story would work better with Jane Shepard instead. After re-writting it, it finally started to feel cohesive and together. Thus, I am releasing the new and improved The Universe We Missed! I hope you guys like it!**

**Don't forget to check out my tumblr for updates, story boards, character designs, and little posts/additions and questions! **** pessimisticpunctuation. tumblr (just remove the spaces as FF wont allow you to link external websites) **

**~Chapter 1 Start~**

Garrus heaved a sigh as he leafed through yet another file that needed to be closed. It was another noise complaint from a repeat offender. Annoyed, his mandibles tightened against his faceplate as he entered the data into the computer. He wasn't sure which was worse, the boring cases, or the fact he wasn't allowed to deal with them.

The bustling of the bullpen had become a comforting noise during his shifts. The room wasn't as big as the one in the Wards, having need of less beat officers and more detectives. The walls were a muted light grey, with only the one window stretching across the expanse of the back wall in a small slit. Pallin's office was across from theirs, with a larger window and more space. It was beyond inviting and he had his Sergeants seated in a sectioned off office alcove.

The rest of them were tightly packed in like sardines. Dark silver desks lined up and down the room, each row had their desks pressed against another row. It wasn't his favourite place to work all day, it was cold and unassuming. Dull and boring.

Pointless and a waste.

Ever since Garrus left the Wards, he had been stuck on desk duty until Executor Pallin felt he was ready. He couldn't complain, with his father's large file on his actions weighing down everyone's opinion of him and his work. He was lucky Pallin even gave him a chance.

'You do good work, Vakarian. If you learned to follow proper protocol, you could be a force to reckon with.' Pallin's words echoed in his mind as he tapped his tablet

Pallin had taken him in. Thus giving him a chance to be out from underneath his father's thumb.

'Don't mistake what I am saying for flattery. Your file does not paint a pretty picture. No one else, other than your father, will take you in if I have to transfer you. Remember that.' another reminder, another warning.

With a tight leash in hand, Garrus had spent the last four months working in the Presidium, closing files, doing data entry, compiling evidence, and keeping his nose down. He had spent the last few months working quietly and he was starting to grow increasingly restless.

The custom visor he wore on his left eye glowed a soft blue as it hummed quietly. The tinted light brightened his ash scaled plates, accenting his vibrant blue clan markings. He rarely went anywhere without it, it was a gift from his father and he hadn't bothered replacing it despite how old it became; opting instead to upgrade it himself to suit his needs. Turians by nature weren't normally so sentimental, but it wasn't rare to see such sentiments in younger Turians.

"Vakarian." Pallin greeted, nodding his head. Pallin was a larger Turian in stature than others. He had a way about him that seemed to loom over everyone in the room. It probably explained why he got along so well with his father.

Pallin's plates were darker than his own, coming in closer to a dark brown. He had white clan markings largely on the top half of his face plates, with small tethers of white snaking down towards his mandibles, with a small line on his chin.

"Executor." Garrus greeted back. He turned to give his full attention to Pallin, hoping he didn't have more files to close by end of day.

"We are short for tonight's shift, if you feel you are ready. How would you like to do some field work?" His mandibles spread wide in a grin in response to Pallin's request.

"I am ready for anything, Sir." Garrus felt giddy, he would finally see some action. Pallin nodded and turned to go back to his office. He made a slight clicking noise often reserved for young Turians.

"Remember yourself, Vakarian. Anymore fast and loose with the law actions will see you grounded permanently in the Wards."

Garrus didn't need to hear his sub-vocals to know it was a threat.

**~Break~**

Garrus had been paired with a slightly more senior Officer. His name was Nathan, he was painfully Human with short brown hair, honey brown eyes, and tall for his race. A few freckles littered his brow from his vacations on earth, or so he claimed. He smiled a lot, and was very liberal with the on the job chatter.

Garrus didn't care for him much. While these weren't the wards, it still felt like his 'partner' was much too lax. He wasn't horribly used to the familiarity humans seemed to have towards everyone they met.

"So I hear you're a legacy." Nathan's smile was that of a good ol' boy. He was beyond jovial in his words.

"A...what?" Garrus had no idea what that meant. He had hardly dealt with Humans while working in the wards, most of the C-sec agents there were divided up by race to handle their specific districts. The Presidium, however, was for the elite. Filled with rich wealthy families, Diplomats, and various other government officials; Money didn't discriminate. Suddenly, he was surrounded by the newest addition to citadel space.

Humans.

"It's a Human idiom, means your family works in the biz." As Nathan talked, all Garrus could think about was how often Humans seemed to wave their hands around as they talked. He curled his nose plates at the slang word Nathan had used; Human language was spoken in such a guttural fashion. It was bastardized beyond all belief. From the articles he had read, they had many different dialects, which made communication hard even on their home planet, Earth. If translators were not standard in all implants, it would have been almost impossible for Humans to interact on the Citadel.

"And next we are going to check out the new club that's opened up recently. We've had a few issues with drugs being passed around; most of them tame Human drugs. We have also had some complaints of drunken disorderly from the neighbors."

Garrus had completely missed what they were doing, so he simply nodded. It must have been enough because Nathan's grin grew wider as he lead them towards a building decked out in neon lettering that read 'Sativas'. He had no clue what that meant.

"Odd name yeah? A very retro name, but this place is owned by a Human so I'm not surprised." Nathan was smiling, but his eyes were all business. The lineup to enter was mostly Humans, some Asari, and the rare Turian. It wasn't surprising, considering most other races wouldn't have the credits to get up here, much less get in. Some races wouldn't even be able to fit comfortably through the door.

It was clear what kind of clientele the owner wanted. Xenophobia wasn't rare, especially with Humans it seemed.

A scream erupted from a nearby alley, followed by an assortment of shouting. Nathan was already moving towards the entrance when Garrus turned to look at the sound.

Following pursuit, he found a girl sobbing on the ground, her tight pink dress dirty from a drink that was clearly poured over her. Spots of deep red were apparent from where a stain had started to set in. She had long, slightly curled, light brown hair and eyes the same shade. Her equally pink jeweled nails were gently clasping her reddened cheek. Beside her attempting to comfort her was a slightly smaller girl, with short black hair and dark amber skin. She was wearing a pair of skintight black pants, and a shirt, if you could call it that, that covered her front but left the back bare being held up by nothing but a small bit of string.

Three other girls were standing further down the alley. Two of them close to what appeared to be the club's back door. They were dressed in short skirts, skin tight tops, and uncomfortable looking shoes. One had her hair in a messy ponytail; bleach blond hair had started to grow out leaving dark coloured roots. The other had bone straight hair that framed her face and fell along her back.

"Fuck off bitch!" The third girl, who was standing across from them, shouted. Garrus barely noticed her as her dark lace dress, that clung tightly to her curves, blended in with the dark alley. Her hair was a mix of blues and purples that she had tied to the side in some sort of intricate knotwork. Her eyes were a startling blue, and seemed to glow in the dim lighting.

"Puhlease, like you can tell us what to do." The girl with bleach blonde hair advanced, grabbing onto the purple/blue haired girl.

With a scream the bright blue haired girl clawed at her face before kicking the girl in the shin with her spiked shoes.

With a howl the first girl let go as Nathan intervened, grabbing onto her.

"Fucking cunt! You pulled out my hair!" Sure enough there was a large clump in the grasp of the girl Nathan was holding back. With such quick fluidity the purple/blue haired girl lunged forward, her hands connecting with the girls hair pulling relentlessly.

Garrus moved and grasped her around the waist, removing her effortlessly. She reared her head backwards almost hitting him in the nose plates as she squirmed, kicked, and flailed. Sure enough though, the girl had a clump of dark brown and bleached hair in her fist.

"Enough!" Garrus commanded as he pulled her out of the alleyway to break sight. He had read in his orientation that Humans needed to have their eye contact broken to stop a fight.

Clearly what he was taught was wrong. The girl kept screaming, scratching at his plates, and had bumped his nose painfully a few times as he was trying to calm her down. For such a small creature, she sure packed a punch.

Vaguely, he noticed the other two girls approach and say something to the ferocious girl. He missed what it was, his implant fizzing out at all the foreign swear words she was spitting out in haste.

"Jay stop it!" The short haired girl finally shouted. The girl in his arms stilled and he placed her down, his hand still holding onto her arm.

"She fucking deserved it Ronnie!" 'Jay' defended.

"This isn't helping Mia at all, so please stop!" The girl he assumed was Mia let out a strangled sob, holding tightly to Ronnie as Ronnie lectured Jay.

The two girls glared at one another, until Jay finally sighed.

"Alright, ok, fine." Her ruby red lips pursed together as her brow furrowed. She took in deep breaths trying to quell her fury.

"Now that you have settled down, want to tell me what this was about?" Garrus interrupted.

"Yeah, that back-alley bitch threw a drink at Mia and cornered her because her boyfriend left her fat ass." 'Jay' spat out, getting worked up all over again.

"Jay!" Ronnie scolded, "Her size is irrelevant, plus she isn't even that fat."

"Bitch has a fat assed personality then."

"Oh stop being jealous because she has junk in the trunk and you have a flat white girls ass."

"Ladies, enough," Garrus chided as he turned to Mia, "What happened Mia? If she assaulted you, we need to take your statement."

Mia sniffed, her makeup smudging slightly.

"I started seeing a guy I met at CAU, apparently that's his ex, and she threw a drink in my face when I tried to leave. When I told her to fuck off she slapped me." Mia sniffled again and blubbered a few more things trying to convey what happened. It was clear she needed to fully calm down before he could get a full statement.

"Shit this place is supposed to be high brow. How did trailer trash Trisha end up here?" Jay muttered. She had stepped in taking the attention off her blubbering friend. She didn't seem as furious anymore.

"Oh come off it, she's not trailer trash." Rolling her eyes Ronnie flicked Jay in the forehead. Jay muttered a swear and glared at her friend, rubbing her skin she turned to look back at Garrus.

"Alright Garrus, we are going to have to head down to the station with them," Nathan eyed the three girls in suspicion, "These two had a bag of meth on them." Nathan didn't look pleased. Along his face was a scratch mark. He had the bleach blonde girl in handcuffs, while her friend walked beside her quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Told you they were fucking trash." The smugness in Jay's words oozed through so thick, it was almost as if she had her own sub-vocals.

"Jay shut the fuck up!" Ronnie's hands were moving through her hair in nervousness as she fidgeted with something in her pockets.

"All of you, into the vehicle, no more talking." Garrus shouted before anymore arguing could occur.

**~Break~  
**  
"While you were the victims in this assault, we did find ecstasy on you. Unfortunately we are going to have to charge you as well" Garrus explained to the three girls sitting in the interrogation room. He placed the evidence bag onto the table in front of them. The long table seated all three of them without issue, but the two girls decided to squish in close to the girl with the intricate knotwork instead.

When they arrived at the station he had Nathan search everyone, finding a few illegal weapons on the two antagonistic girls, and some pills on the three victims.

Nathan had already started booking the two other girls, knowing Garrus wasn't super comfortable with Humans enough to handle all the steps it took to book them. Fingerprints, DNA samples, retina scans, body scans. etc.

"Oh this is b.s., this wouldn't even be happening if those two whores weren't even let up here in the first place." Arms crossed, Jay, or as Garrus had found out Jane, glared.

While the presidium had free access during the day, at night it was more controlled to prevent those who didn't live there from entering. It was a recent decision made by the different neighborhoods in an effort to keep crime in the area down.

While it worked for the most part, it wasn't foolproof.

"Possession is still illegal." Garrus started.

"Oh please Officer, we won't be charged and you know it," Jane started, "Mia got hurt by some druggies from the Wards, how will this look to your superiors when her father hears you also detained her afterwards?" she leaned forward all business. Her eyes had changed from aloof 'devil-may-care' to a dark and authoritative sharpness.

"Are you threatening me Miss Harper?" Garrus matched her movements without flinching. She had this strange fire in her. It was that moment Garrus realized the front she put up hid a very smart and manipulative girl.

"No, Officer Vakarian, just offering some friendly career advice." She sat back looking smug. Her lips tilted in a way that showed defiance. Garrus swallowed slowly not really sure how to handle her. Most Human females he met were demure, quiet, and submissive in nature.

Maybe it was an act they put on. It would explain why Human males always complained about them 'busting their balls'

It was then Executor Pallin walked into the room.

"Let them go." He ordered. His mandibles clung tightly to his face. His sub-vocals going off in warning.

Garrus had virtually seen red, as Jane gave him a pointed look as she walked past him, with the two other girls trailing after her.

**~Break~**

It had been almost a week since that night, he was again sitting at a desk closing files. While he wasn't in trouble, Pallin felt it was best he become more acquainted with how things worked on the Presidium.

That was basically code for 'learn who the important people were and leave them alone'.

While Garrus hadn't done anything wrong, he had still searched the girls without just cause. They were victims and all he should have done was taken their statements and sent them on their way. They were basically off due to a technicality.

Money talks, Garrus' hands were tied.

Pallin told him he was lucky the girls didn't feel the need to notify their families. Jane in particular, as he learned, was from a very wealthy and influential family. Her family owned a weapons and biowarfare research facility, as well as a company that created tech for the Alliance. He wasn't 100% on the details, but it seemed like her father worked with the Alliance military and had a lot of pull.

Her friends had parents in the Alliance Senate. All influential families.

Garrus was really starting to hate working for C-Sec.

**~Break~**

While Garrus worked in the Presidium, he didn't live there. He lived in the Wards Turian district in a small bachelor apartment, most of his money going to his Mother back on Palavan.

His apartment wasn't impressive. While his family was well off, he was hardly raised rich. There was a time when his mother's health was better, where they both had worked and provided more than enough to maintain a certain lifestyle, but that had all changed when she had become sick. So now they only had his father's income, and his, to help pay her medical bills.

Thus, Garrus lived in a small, old bachelor's suite. He bought his monthly supplies frugally and sent most of it home for his mother and sister.

The faded and peeling blue walls of his apartment did little to cover how dark the streets were in this area. They did not have the same fake day and night schedule the presidium had. His kitchen was old, mostly chrome and steel coloured. He had a small island countertop, a small sink, and a little stove/oven combo beside a modest sized fridge.

To the right of his kitchen was a small alcove that was separated by a built-in shelf unit. The bachelor was modest in decoration, but liberal with space. That's why Garrus chose an older apartment over a newer one. More bang for his buck. He had some nice bay windows, tinted for privacy, showing him the view of the Turian District from his 27th floor apartment.

He had one closet by his bed, and another near his front door. Just to the side of that closet was his built in washer and dryer duo. On the same side of his apartment was the door to his bathroom, which only had a shower, toilet, and sink with built in storage.

Washing his dishes from dinner, he decided due to his shitty work week, he would head down to Purgatory Bar for a drink. It was a bar that was located between the Wards and the Presidium, so the clientele tended to be better than Chora's Den or Flux. While it wasn't a nightclub, it had a similar atmosphere and was inclusive towards most races.

This was because most places still didn't allow Quarians into their establishments. Not that they ever wanted to enter a bar/club anyways.

Dressing in his blue and black civvies, Garrus locked his door and headed towards the bar.

**~Break~**

Garrus had been there about an hour when a very loud, and very familiar voice stirred him from his thoughts. Garrus had spent most of his time at the bar nursing the same drink. A few Turian women had approached him, offered to buy him a drink. Knowing what the intent was he declined, feeling uncomfortable enough at the bar on his own.

Turning he saw Jane, clad in a tight leather dress that looked to be more like a top. It dipped low into her cleavage, and had the zipper adorned on the front. Garrus never understood the fascination Humans had towards their fleshy bits; her hair was probably the most attractive aspect about her. The bright colours and the length was largely a masculine feature for Turians, but the vibrant myriad of colours, as well as its flexibility had Garrus curious. Tonight she had it down in waves that caressed her collar bones. Her black spiked heels finished the look. She looked like she was arguing with some tall guy who was grabbing her arms roughly.

Standing Garrus pushed through the crowd and grabbed the man from behind. While he may not like Jane all that much, he was still a cop at heart and the tall man looked to be harassing her.

"Excuse me sir, I think it's time you leave." The man turned and was about to say something when Jane stomped on his foot.

"You might need a hospital darling, I'd suggest you go get that checked out." The guy cried out and almost fell to the ground as he balanced on his remaining good foot, his fleshy hand reaching down to cradle his injured appendage.

Deciding he was outnumbered, he limped away glaring at Jane as he went.

"My pleasure, this bitch is crazy." it almost looked as if Jane was going to respond to the insult, so Garrus stepped in to prevent any more damage, to either party.

"Must you always use violence whenever I see you?" Garrus chuckled as Jane glared at him. Her cheeks puffed red in embarrassment or anger, he wasn't quite sure which.

It wasn't until this moment that Garrus realized how expressive Humans were.

"You don't need to save me Officer." her blue eyes gazed defiantly into his. Her brow pinched neatly atop her eyes. She looked like a petulant child and he almost laughed, his sub-vocals ringing in amusement.

"Not saving you, and I am currently off duty." he corrected.

You could see the wheels turning in Jane's head as she looked around the club. She tapped a perfectly manicured finger against her chin. The colour matched her hair and he caught himself wondering why Humans spent so much time altering how they looked.

"Well if you are off duty you can buy me a drink then." She turned on her heels and walked towards the bar, her hips swaying ever so slightly. Garrus gulped, while he didn't find fleshy Human bits attractive, her waist was thoroughly female by Turian standards.

In this moment Garrus realized how little he knew about Humans.

**~Break~**

After getting her and himself a drink, he turned to his feisty companion.

"Where are your friends?"

"Double date, I didn't want to play third wheel all night, so I figured I'd see if I could get lucky." She wiggled her eyebrows with a smile and took a drink.

"Get lucky at what?" Garrus was sufficiently confused. Jane almost inhaled her drink as she choked on a laugh.

"Ah...nevermind." there was an awkward silence that hung to them like sweat.

"Garrus." Garrus spoke, breaking the silence. He wasn't sure the social protocols with Humans, but he remembered seeing Nathan introducing himself to every Human he seemed to meet.

"What?" her brows moved against, both raised high in what Garrus assumed meant confusion. Did he do it wrong?

"That's my name, I figured it was only fair you knew my name since I already know yours." he cleared his throat, deciding it was a good time to take a sip from his drink.

Jane nodded and took another drink herself. She looked like she struggled for a moment before speaking.

"For the record Garrus, I don't actually do drugs...Ronnie and Mia just had a shitty week at school and sometimes...you just want to forget for a bit."

"I...I wasn't thinking anything."

"Oh please you were, I can tell you have a huge hate on for drugs. For the record, that shit we had is virtually harmless. It's not like how it was back in the 90's, that shit was cut with everything till the silk road." With a shrug she finished her drink.

"I didn't know Humans partied so much." Garrus responded, not knowing what to say. Turians were usually direct with what they wanted to say or ignored what wasn't their business and he had no idea what a 'Silk Road' was.

"We don't, not all of us. But when your parents are never around, you have money to get what you want, it's pretty easy." She shrugged nonchalantly. He could see the appeal in her personality, she was aloof, unafraid, and confident. But her narcissism left much to be desired, she knew she was attractive just a bit too much.

"Turians don't do stuff like that." it was a lame response, but he couldn't help but lament his thoughts.

"Course not, you guys are all rigid as fuck," She laughed this time and turned to look at him, "For once let loose, be a bad Turian." She purred the last bit. Garrus wasn't aware a Human's vocal cords' could even create such an effect.

She tipped her drink at him and downed it. As she slammed it on the bar, he had a feeling the social protocol here was to follow suit.

**~Break~**

The night had continued on, Garrus had told her about his problems at work, and Jane had listened, bought him drinks, called his father an asshole; of course she didn't know he was his father from the stories thus the expelative, and talked about her school.

She was attending the new University for Humans located of the presidium. It was called Citadel Alliance University. It catered mostly to Humans, but accepted anyone with enough money to get in. Apparently it was a spin-off of a prestigious university down on earth.

"What are you taking?" Garrus finally asked, his mind feeling foggy.

"Oh you know, this and that, haven't really picked a specific major..." She trailed off shrugging. She downed her drink signalling Garrus to do the same.

If Garrus wasn't so drunk he might have picked up on her hesitation to answer the question.

"Enough about the boring stuff, come, live with me." She whispered, her hot breath flitting across his mandible. It stunk heavily of alcohol, but he couldn't help the shiver.

"I don't dance."

"Oh my dear Turian, that is where you are wrong. Everyone dances, it's whether they choose to or not." She pulled his hand and he followed, hypnotized by her unique take on life.

He followed her for a moment before he stopped on the edge of the dance floor. He shook his head and he noticed her brows pinched together again.

Annoyance...

As quickly as he saw it, it was gone. With a smile she shrugged again and took off towards the dance floor.

Somewhere in the night he remembered her dancing in the middle of two other Humans, grinding against each other in such a way he was reminded of sex.

**~Break~**

With a groan Garrus awoke to a pounding head and swirling colours. Attempting to get his eyes to focus he noticed a few things.

One, he was on his couch, his neck cricked at an awkward angle.

Two, he was shirtless and felt clammy.

Three, Jane was asleep in his bed.

He gulped trying to remember what happened last night. Had something 'more' happened?

As he sat there stunned, trying to find out what was going on, Jane started to stir and he had to resist the urge to hide underneath his blanket.

She sat up, checked her Omni-Tool then swore lightly under her breath.

"Well fuck me, I'm running late..." she jumped out of bed, wearing barely anything at all. She approached her purse from last night and pulled out a few items.

"What...what are you doing?" At the last moment Garrus wussed out of asking what he wanted to know.

'What happened last night?'

"Ahh getting ready for class, thank god I brought my walk of shame kit, I won't have time to stop by my apartment before class." She wiggled her hips into tight black pants and threw on a baggy blue t-shirt with a v-neck. It had the logo for CAU on the front.

"Walk of...shame?"

"Sorry, have to go, feel free to call me later if you want to grab lunch or something, you're pretty fun when you want to be." She smiled wickedly and stuffed her dress into her purse, threw her hair up into a bun, and disappeared out the door.

**~Break~**

The minute she had left, Garrus almost tripped over his couch as he scrambled to get up.

Did he have sex with the Human?! Would he need to go to the hospital and make sure he wouldn't have an allergic reaction?

Trying to calm himself he looked up the phrase she used, hoping the shame was in the lack of sexual intercourse.

Upon opening the first link, his blood drained.

'**Walk of Shame**

(Human Idiom)

_Informal_

1\. an instance of walking back home on the day after an unplanned casual sexual encounter, typically dressed in the same clothes as the previous evening.

"if you're at his and have to make the dreaded walk of shame home, steel yourself" '

Oh Dear God!

He rushed over towards his bed and sniffed. It smelled like her. No scent of sex though. Smelling himself he found only her faint scent.

Letting out a sigh he sat back down, arm covering his eyes.

She spent the night, no matter what everything will probably smell like her.

Still seated on the bed, his head in his hands, he let out one final groaned.

He really was the worst Turian ever.

**~Chapter 1 End~**


	2. Where the Music Leads (Chapter 2)

**Author's ****Note:**I hope you all enjoy chapter 2. It has been a long time coming but after a big move I hope that I can post a lot more frequently. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will be back soon!

**~Chapter 2 Start~**

Garrus was stirred from his nap by his Omni-Tool beeping. With a groan he looked at the time. 1;00 a.m. The message was from an unknown number. He hit ignore and routed all unknown calls to voicemail, before rolling back over.

Whomever it was, they could wait until morning, and if it was important, they could leave a message. Within a few moments his Omni-Tool beeped again. Bleary eyes read the name 'Mom' lit brightly up on the screen. Hitting accept he answered instantly, his voice thick with sleep.

"Hi Mom."

"Hi sweetie." A high pitch voice purred. Garrus pressed a button on his Omni-Tool to make sure he hadn't misread it earlier. Sure enough the screen showed 'Mom'. His Omni-Tool must have glitched out, that's what he gets for rooting and modding the newest upgrade without testing to see if everything was working properly.

Jane hummed into the phone as if to remind him of her presence.

"Why are you calling at 1:00 a.m." He tried to sound annoyed, but his sub-vocal buzzed anxiety.

Thank god Humans can't hear sub-vocals.

Wait, or could they?

"Uh Garrus, did you fall asleep on me?" Jane accused.

"What?" Such eloquence Garrus.

"I said you were supposed to meet me tonight, you said you had tomorrow off as well." She huffed out agitated.

"I...what?"

"Just get your ass down here, I'll send you my coordinates." with a beep she hung up on him. Sure enough within seconds his Omni-Tool beeped again, signifying he had a message.

With a groan he headed to his shower to wake up.

What else did he promise last night?

~Break~

The first thing he noticed was her lack of a dress. She was wearing faded high waisted jean shorts that accentuated her small waist and big hips. She was wearing a lacy black short sleeved crop top. She had black stockings going up to mid thigh with black high heels for shoes. Around her waist she had tied a plaid flannel dress shirt that was blue.

She seemed to really like blue.

"Uh...hi..." scratching the back of his head he wished he was anywhere but here.

She raised a darkened eyebrow and shook her head as she started to lead them towards a door located in a dimly lit alley. He almost didn't notice the large Krogan standing at the door, dressed in dark armor.

He stepped forward blocking them, arms crossed in a very Human expression. Garrus was starting to feel unnerved.

Jane smiled and pressed a button on her Omni-Tool. With a beep the Krogans Omni-Tool beeped and he stepped out of the way.

Once they were fully inside, Garrus leaned over her small frame.

"What was that?"

"This place is pretty high end, so I had to pay our way." She winked at him and waltzed through the dark curtains hanging in place of a door.

Inside was loud, the music was pounding against his more sensitive ears. As if reading his mind she handed him some ear plugs.

"Did some research during class, this should help." she shouted over the music. Leading him through the amass of people, He put them in as they passed through the last crowd of humans. He noticed a bar to their left where most of them were centered around. Stopping at a door she motioned for him to put the earplugs in.

What else had she learned about him during their time apart?

'Tell me where he came from, then I'll know where to go, Mama always says when we look really hard, we'll find what we've lost.' a man was singing, cringing Garrus winced from the loudspeakers facing towards them. Up front was a stage surrounded by many Humans screaming the words along with the singer.

He saw Jane laugh, but couldn't hear her over the screaming Humans and booming music.

She pointed at her omni-tool, then his. Taking the prompt he took a look at his newest message.

'Turn your translator off, it's much better than listening to the weird distortion our voices get through the damn things. Plus a lot gets lost in translation ;).'

Wordlessly he followed her instructions and finally the confusing wording and slightly computerized voice stopped.

'Où est ton papa? Dis-moi où est ton papa? Sans même devoir lui parler Il sait ce qui ne va pas Ah sacré papa Dis-moi où es-tu caché? Ça doit, faire au moins mille fois que j'ai Compté mes doigts.'

Garrus had trouble following individual words as the Human sang. He was pretty sure he wasn't' speaking, err, singing, in the same language the other Humans on the Citadel spoke. The rare few he heard speak when upgrading his translating program, or fixing it after a messy upgrade, sounded more rigid, they didn't roll their tongue so much in their words.

The language had similar sounds to Quarian. He had trouble keeping up as Turian didn't have as much variety, nor did they use as much facial expression or body language, largely relying on sub-vocals to convey most things.

He had to admit it sounded beautiful. Most Turians were taught Humans were a brutish lot. That they lacked intelligence and met everything new with anger and ignorance.

But standing here now he couldn't bring himself to agree in the slightest. The music was expressive, showing a side to Humans he never got to see on the Citadel. Turning he heard Jane for the first time singing along, her voice starkly different from what he was used too. Her mouth was twisted in a pure smile as her hair bounced free.

It was a clarity moment for him. She suddenly seemed so far away, he was afraid for a moment to blink, in case everything disappeared into a dream he would awake from.

It was no secret that Garrus was still young in Turian standards. He hadn't completed the 15 years of service. He'd never experienced anything outside of Palavan, army training, and the Citadel. Opting to stay home when his mother was hospitalized midway through his 15 years.

It was another thing he resented his father for.

For the sake of his career he left his family on Palavan to work on the Citadel. Garrus had given up every opportunity for his father and his family. For the longest time he wasn't even sure if his life was even his. Young, belligerent by Turian standards, and suffocated, Garrus found himself astride a young Human female whose life belonged entirely to herself, entirely to the night and every possible feeling that she could ever experience.

She wasn't afraid to be herself. Her colourful hair was clearly not natural, her clothing wasn't what the Humans on the Citadel wore. She spoke loudly, danced wildly, and didn't fear anyone.

He wasn't sure how long it had been as he caught her gaze. She spun to face him, smiling brightly as she did so. Grasping his hand she pulled him forward, leading him through the throng of hot sweaty bodies.

As they approached closer to the stage she caught the eye of a young Human male who sauntered over to her. He smiled and she smiled back. She laughed as he whispered in her ear. She waved her hand and moved towards Garrus, her hand brushing his arm as she trailed it down to hold his.

He marveled at how soft she was.

The man looked annoyed and she merely gave him the finger as he stomped off through the crowd. It was clear he was trying to proposition her. Clever to use his large Turian frame to deter the unwanted advance.

As quickly as it happened, it was over. Her fingers left his and he let out the uncomfortable breath he was holding.

**~Break~**

The night progressed until she had enough and led him out of the event. The door behind them clicked shut and the cool air felt nice on their overheated bodies.

She turned to him and said something, her voice coming out so clear it stunned him for a moment to hear how soft she sounded. He blinked, the situation felt way more intimate than it should have been.

He shook his head as he pointed at her Omni-Tool, before opening his and turning on his translator.

She laughed as she spoke again.

"Shit, forgot about that. I wanted to know if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat." her hip was propped out as she stood favouring one foot over the other. The heels she wore looked rather uncomfortable.

"Ah...while this was interesting, it's late and I should head home, after last night I don't think I could handle anymore surprises..." He trailed off uncomfortably, his sub-vocals keening in apprehension.

"It's not like anything bad happened," She looked confused. Suddenly her eyes widened and she started laughing, "Oh dear, you think something happened! Oh Garrus, I guess you were drunk as a skunk, shit I thought you remembered."

He swallowed uncomfortably.

"You called it a walk of shame..."

"No I said I had a walk of shame bag, I was out that night looking to get laid," Her eyes were mocking him as she laughed again, "I didn't, if it wasn't obvious. You were the one that insisted I come to your place so you could make sure I didn't get hurt. Damn chivalrous of you, didn't even try to get into my pants or anything."

"I...what?"

"You also promised to escort me to my concert. Since it was late at night and it's a 'hot spot for criminal activity' as you called it."

"I'm very confused."

"I'll bet, I'm sorry I didn't think you might not remember. I am thankful you came anyways, my friends couldn't come as their families are in town for spring break."

"Why aren't you with your family?"

Jane froze for a mere second.

"Ahh, well...my mother has been dead for years and my dad works a lot." She shrugged, her smile firmly in place.

"Well I'm glad I could keep you company then."

"Even if I'm the troublemaker who threatened you?" she elbowed his arm in jest.

"Well I'm not exactly thrilled about it, frankly you are a giant pain in...what is it you Humans call it...ass."

"Ouch, hurtful birdie."

"Birdie?" Garrus raised a brow plate at her poor nickname.

"The only other one I have is clever girl." there had to be an inside joke in that statement as it went over Garrus' head.

"Birdie is fine..."

"How about Bluebird?"

"No."

"Cardinal?"

"I don't even know what you are naming anymore." Garrus was exasperated now.

"Types of birds on Earth."

"Okay, I can guess why you chose Bluebird, but why Cardinal?"

"I dunno, it just kind of suited you, I remembered an old saying I had read."

"What saying?"

"Hmm...maybe one day I'll tell you." she smiled wistfully as she stepped back to create a comfortable distance.

"It's time for you to go home Officer Vakarian, I'm going to grab a quick bite and head home." She gave a half wave and disappeared out of the alley.

**~Break~**

After that night Jane had become a staple in his life. They often messaged each other, went for lunches, and had the occasional bar night. It was clear to Jane that Garrus wasn't a night owl partier, so she left him safe at home and in bed while she got into bar fights, danced till her heels broke, and spent the night at some poor blokes apartment or dorm room. Their strange ill fit friendship had been going on for near six months now.

Garrus was currently at work when Executor Pallin walked up towards Garrus' desk.

"Executor." He greeted, it was unusual to see him lately, he was not often in the Presidium office, busy with council meetings.

"I'm here to assign you to your new partner." He looked reserved, as if he wasn't fully comfortable with the could help the excited keen that leaked through.

"Does this mean I am no longer on desk duty?"

"You are being partnered with Chellick, a more senior Officer. He is very talented and you could learn a lot from him," Pallin nodded politely as he handed him a file, "This will be your first case."

**~Break~**

"Really?" Garrus huffed as he read through the file.

"It's not that bad." Chellick countered as he gave Garrus an amused look.

"We are on a silly insurance fraud claim, to some Doctor Mar, to check on his billing practices because he has been billing an unusual amount of transplants, more than the hospital can account for."

"I know it's not interesting, but it's still a part of the job, a job you are allowed to do again."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

They entered the hospital, heading straight towards the administration offices. The walls were all a faded white, faded coloured lines adorned the floor leading to various wards. This was not a high class hospital, which wasn't surprising. It was located down in the wards.

"Hello miss, can we please get directions to Doctor Mar's office?" Chellick asked, offering a Turian equivalent to a 'good boy' smile. The Asari across from him flushed a slight purple hue and started to type into her terminal for the requested information.

Garrus decided to take a moment to look around the waiting room, it was strangely sparse, but otherwise fairly normal. Shifting from one foot to the other he noted how strangely empty the whole place seemed compared to the bigger hospital located on the Citadel.

"Creepy right?" Chellick airly voiced startling Garrus out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, hospitals have always made me uncomfortable, but usually they are busier." His mandibles gave an embarrassed flutter. Ever since his mother was hospitalized he hadn't much enjoyed entering any if he could help it.

"That's because this hospital is cursed." Garrus tilted his gaze and found a young Human nurse with frizzy auburn hair tied in a bun and a pale complexion. It was clear she had been working far longer than she should have.

"What do you mean Miss..." Chellick trailed off, his hand still extended. His stature tilting just enough to appear as Human as the nurse in front of them.

"Serena, my name is Serena Joyce." She extended a tiny pale hand and Chellick shook it without hesitation. Wasn't he worried about breaking her small fleshy bits?

"Well Miss Joyce, what do you mean cursed?"

Nurse Joyce wrung her hands together, bits of her pale pink nail polish peeling off as she picked at the sides habitually. It was clear she was trying to find the words to express a delicate thought.

"Well...a lot of patients who get checked in, don't get checked out. I swore one night I was in the Intensive care ward where one of our previous Surgical patients was slowly going through organ failure. I wasn't even made aware someone was checked into her room until she let out a horrible sobbing scream of pain." Nurse Joyce gulped back her tears as she shifted nervously. Chellick placed a clawed hand behind her back and slowly escorted her to somewhere a bit more private.

"Shh it's ok, what happened to this patient?"

"Well I ran into her room and I tried to find her chart so I could see what meds she was on so I could adjust her pain management, but all that I could find was a mostly blank document that said her name was Mrs. Hawling, except it listed her age as 82," Nurse Joyce shifted her eyes to the Asari at the front desk, and then back towards Chellick, "The thing is, she didn't exist, she was in the bed of a woman who had coded the night before, but none of the paperwork was filed for her death."

"How do you know that Mrs. Hawling was dead?" Garrus whispered, tilting his body to cut the Asari's view of their new informant.

"Because I checked the morgue, she had been tagged as a Jane Doe, except..." She trailed off looking around before leaning in closely.

"When I returned back to the mysterious girl's room, she was gone. On her chart it said Mrs. Hawling coded due to organ failure at 4:13AM, minutes after I went to check the morgue for the real Mrs. Hawling."

"Did you ever find out who the girl was?"

Nurse Joyce shook her head, "No, it was as if she was a ghost. News started to spread fast after a few incidents like this, then the ghost stories started. People say this hospital is cursed, haunted, that anyone who goes in, doesn't come back."

"So that's what it's so empty?" Garrus inquired, eyeing the sparse waiting room.

"Yeah, only the really desperate seem to come anymore, that and Dr. Mar's patients."

Chellick and Garrus turned and looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion about Dr. Mar.

"Thank you for your time Nurse Joyce, it was lovely meeting you." Chellick smiled as he kissed her hand. The nurse blushed beet red and stammered a goodbye before bouncing off behind 'Hospital Staff Only'' doors.

**_~Break~_**

It had been a week since they had attempted to meet with Dr. Mar. Sadly they hadn't been able to catch him any of the times they had visited the hospital. He was either on vacation or on an emergency visit to one of his patients.

They were starting to think they would need to go straight for a warrant just to see him. Sadly, they had nothing to connect him to the insurance fraud, nor the patient disappearances.

Except Garrus was getting a nagging feeling in the back of his head. It felt like this was just the tip of a horrifying iceberg. Chellick was optimistic, he had decided it was time to check on their favourite little informant.

Truthfully Garrus had really liked Nurse Joyce. She was a quiet and well meaning Human who showed the intent to make both himself, and Chellick comfortable. The complete opposite of most Humans.

"I sent a message to Serena to see if she could meet up today, I haven't gotten a response yet, I think we should check out the hospital again, see if she's working and see if we can finally catch Dr. Mar." Chellick sounded nonchalant, but the high hum his sub vocals were making told a different story.

"Sounds good, I'll meet you at the Hospital." He didn't mean to sound so dismissive, but something felt off about the case now. It didn't help that for the past week he couldn't find any doctor anywhere named Dr. Mar, except for this mysterious one. He seemed to exist on paper only.

So he took the time to finish checking another dead lead, serving to do nothing more than sour his mood further. His hand ran down his face as he leaned back in the chair.

"Hmm, reminds me of paper towns." A sultry voice quipped startling Garrus enough to slam his knee against his desk. Hissing out a Turian expletive, he looked up to see his favourite little convict.

"What on earth are you doing here for Jane?" Garrus sighed, ignoring the stinging in his leg. He noted her hair cascaded around her shoulders. Disheveled and matted as she leaned over his desk looking at the file he was agonizing over. The usual blues and purples had faded and her roots were starting to show. But all in all, it still screamed 'Jane'.

"Well, I haven't seen you all week and I got bored, so I may or may not have gotten myself arrested." her bright red lips with tilted in a grin and Garrus couldn't help but be pulled into her web.

"You may be charismatic, but I highly doubt you got arrested just to see me." His mandibles fluttered in faux annoyance causing Jane to laugh, her voice ringing like bells. She was the complete opposite of Serena.

"You may be correct, I may have gotten a little drunk, and angry, and keyed someone's sky car." She shrugged as if it was any old Wednesday afternoon.

"I know you, that wasn't all that happened."

"Ok so I punched some bitches teeth in and pulled out her shit weave." With a shrug she plopped her small tush on his desk causing Garrus to sit back and let out an aggravated growl.

"I am trying to work on a case Jane, I don't have time to babysit you, so go back to the poor Officer assigned to watch you before he has an actual heart attack." This was the most harsh and dismissive Garrus had ever been, but it was time to stop placating her. She was a grown woman, what on earth was she doing keying a car and beating the shit out of other girls?

"Ok ok, I'll let you in on a secret then," She leaned in close, her breath hitting the side of his plated face, "I didn't actually beat anyone up. Truthfully? Guy I was kind of seeing cheated on me with an ex-bestie, so I may have sent his car out a garbage shoot, it's probably floating somewhere near the Mass Relay by now, as for Ronnie, well let's just say her parents are MORE than aware of her extracurricular activities and she's now being shipped off to a military school come the new semester."

"By more than aware you mean?"

"Sent it in an email to everyone in her address book, girl has no security on her fucking Omni-Tool, shit she took like four videos fucking the guy I actually liked and was dating, what a cunt." She brushed her hair over her shoulder, taking a calming breath.

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone." For some reason not knowing bothered Garrus.

"I didn't want to jinx it incase it ended bad, which it did to be fair," She sighed and her shoulder slumped, "Mia thinks I went too far, personally I think they got what they deserved."

"Ok but I doubt this answers the question on why you are here, there is no way they could have tied you to either one of those." Garrus wasn't stupid, he knew she had power and influence, she was more than capable of covering her tracks.

"Well..." She taped a no-longer perfectly manicured nail against her chin, "I guess I am here because a cop had to pull me off Mia, which took a chunk of hair with it for the record, she's going to need a wig to fix that mess." Jane chuckled to herself.

"Why did you attack Mia?" Garrus was exasperated now, Jane Harper seemed incapable of meshing anywhere, stability was an impossibility. She was impulsive, rude, self centered, and reckless.

Except, when Garrus asked why Mia, she tilted her head downward, a common position Humans took when they felt guilty.

"I didn't mean to I just..." she waved her hands around trying to grasp the right words, before giving up and she sunk down, her hands on her knees holding tightly, "She made a nasty comment about how I deserved it with how I treat people. She said that the only reason they were my friends was because I could give them a good time, she said that I deserved losing the guy I liked because I had done the same to tons of other girls without care..." A small tear splattered against her clenched hand and Garrus moved towards her, lightly trailing his talon up and down her thigh in comfort.

"I know that isn't what set you off." He calmly pushed, his sub vocals echoing a calming purr that always seem to calm Jane down.

"She...she said that I was just like my mother, a whore to be used and tossed away." She sniffled but raised her head up, her eyes were wet and glassy, but she hadn't shed anymore tears.

He could see the scratch marks on her cheek now, as well as the bruises from the Officer pulling her off Mia, and the huge red mark on her cheek which could have been from Mia or the Officer.

"I don't know what your mother has to do with this." Garrus admitted, he knew startling little about the little heiress.

"She...it's no secret my mother isn't around, she was a nobody my dad met in University. Some say she got knocked up by someone else, others say he killed her because she threatened to leave him and take me, but the most common rumor is that he paid her to leave when she became too much trouble. I just...I don't really know what happened to her, all I know are all those horrible rumors, she knew exactly where to strike." With another sigh Jane shook her head and hopped off Garrus' desk.

"Well, I should probably go back to lockup now before they notice I'm gone." With a cheeky smile she showed off her wrist that was still half shackled in a pair of handcuffs.

"You seriously picked the locks on your cuffs AND cell just so you could bug me?" Garrus snorted as Jay shrugged.

"What can I say, you're irresistible." She purred as she sashayed out of the bullpen, and back towards intake.

Garrus merely shook his head as he looked back down at his work. Except, something was nagging at him.

"Jane, wait," Garrus yelled before Jane walked out of the bullpen.

"What's up?"

"What do you mean by Paper Towns?" Jane merely grinned as she pressed a few buttons on her Omni-Tool.

"I sent you some links, maybe it will help." She grinned as she gave Garrus a salute.

"Just get back to intake before the poor Humans there have a panic attack."

**~Break~**

She had sent the links as promised, it seemed that Paper Towns were fake towns created by Humans on maps as a way to stop plagiarizing. It became a habit for Humans to add them in for fun or even tourist attractions. Nowadays it was largely just a historical fact, but the premise was solid.

Create a fake town that exists only on paper, Dr. Mar had done the same thing, only instead of a fake town on a map, he was a fake Doctor in a hospital.

Looking up, he noticed the hospital's dark and looming presence.

Was this hospital only on paper as well?

It was a horrifying thought.

Entering the doors he was met with an ill lit waiting room devoid of people this time. The only person there was the same clerical worker, typing away at her computer. Chellick was standing there breathing in deeply as he turned and greeted Garrus.

"What's going on?" Garrus asked as Chellick steered him out of the hospital.

"Apparently Nurse Joyce quit a few days ago."

"I am assuming you don't believe that." Chellick gave a proud smile at Garrus' comment.

"You are getting better and better at this detective business, you are correct, I don't buy it. Nurse Joyce was telling me her intent to keep working here to help us find Dr. Mar, she messaged me a few days ago that she had found something out and that she had left what she discovered in a safe place, she was going to tell me when I met with her today for lunch where it was, she didn't trust our messages would stay encrypted."

"Good thinking on her part, do you think she's in danger?"

"That's what I intend to find out."

**~End Chapter 2~ **


End file.
